OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 21 (UPI) -- A sharp ground ball off the bat of Chris Young turned into a three-run error Friday that highlighted Oakland's 11-0 romp over Minnesota.
Bartolo Colon threw six shutout innings to keep the Twins in check, but the game was cracked open by a five-run fifth that featured a costly throwing error by third baseman Eduardo Escobar.
The victory reduced Oakland's magic number for clinching the American League West to two. An Oakland win on Saturday combined with a Texas loss will give the Athletics their second straight division title.
Oakland already had a 4-0 lead going into the fifth and the A's loaded the bases in that inning with two out.
Young then delivered a hard-hit grounder that Escobar stopped with a lunging grab. His throw to first, however, got away and with the ball rolling around in the large expanse of foul territory, there was time for all three runners to score.
Alberto Callaspo then singled home Young and Callaspo scored later in the inning on a wild pitch.
Colon (17-6) allowed five hits and struck out eight for the easy victory. Andrew Albers (2-4) gave up seven runs, only three of which were earned, in 4 2/3 innings to take the loss.
